FAST FAQ
BEFORE ASKING ANY QUESTIONS IN THE THREAD Provide this information: 1. Stats Age/Height/Weight 2. Fitness level and anywhere in between VIDEO ON HOW TO START THE SNAKE DIET: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APhNExaARrk BONUS LINKS https://idmprogram.com/biggest-loser-diet-explained/ https://idmprogram.com/fix-broken-metabolism/ Q: Is this safe? A: The only people that need to worry about its safety are: - If you have current health issues (although fasting cures some health issues, like type 2 diabetes). Ask your doctor and ask some fasters if it's OK to fast before you try fasting. The best source is to ask Cole on his Snake Diet Facebook group or contact him through Instagram. If you do so, be prepared to provide accountability pictures for 'free' coaching. - Missing organs (1 kidney and missing appendix is fine, unsure about other organs) If you are an 'average' person, I highly recommend EVERYONE at least do a 72 hour fast to break your fear of fasting. I recommend doing a 72h dry fast. Doing so will also give you the confidence that the mainstream idea that not drinking water for 3 days = death is a pure myth. You'll just be really thirsty and you'll be shocked at how effective the method really is. If you're an overweight/obese person, you can fast for a very, very long time depending on how much body fat you have stored on your fat fucking gut. Again, if you're going to do a snake juice fast, DO NOT INGEST THE SALTS IN CAPSULES. YOU MAY END UP WITH AN ULCER AND DIE. ''' Finally, DO NOT DO PLAIN WATER FASTS THAT LAST OVER 3-4 DAYS. For more information, watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fURwtw_FYK0 '''Q: Won't my body burn muscle doing prolonged fasts? A: NOT AS MUCH AS THE MAINSTREAM CALORIC DEFICIT DIET! The myth that your body burns through muscle as its first source of energy is the most retarded fucking lie to have ever circulated in the world of health & fitness (except maybe that sugar is good and fat is bad). Think about it for a second: if you're on ANY kind of cut for a long period of time, will you just end up bone and fat? Are people around the world that have food insecurity just bone and fat? Your body does not go for muscle until you're actually starving, which you will immediately know when you can not sleep/have highly broken sleep patterns due to high cortisol secretion. You won't have to worry about this until you're DEEP in to a fast and/or you're already lean. If you want to burn muscle, go on a long, multiple meal a day caloric deficit diet so you can stay in a state of muscle atrophy for months and months. Q: If I already workout, will I lose muscle? A: If you are already at an unnatural state of being in terms of muscle mass, you WILL lose muscle but not as much as you would on a mainstream cut. Muscle atrophy, which happens on average 2 weeks after little/no stimulation of muscle (and much quicker on somebody with huge muscle mass), is separate from the process of utilizing fat via ketosis. On a mainstream cut where losing 2 pounds per week is aggressive, which do you think would spare the most muscle? The one where you fast for a week or the one where you cut for 2 months? Also, when you start to eat at a caloric deficit, your body adjusts to how much food you take in, dropping your BMR. If you want more information, read The Obesity Code or just watch some of Dr. Fung's videos. You will lose muscle on ANY cut, but you will spare the most amount of muscle on a prolonged fast. If you are a more advanced lifter and want to keep your gains, do not do long fasts, consider OMAD or a 20:4 IF routine (no further than 16:8) to reach your target bf%. If you do so, you might have to increase the macros and calories because your metabolism increases when you fast. If you want to spare the most muscle on a long fast, do a snake juice fast accompanied with moderate intensity workouts for maintaining your muscle mass. Q: I can't find all of the ingredients locally, where can I get them and do I really need ALL of them? A: Amazon may be your only source. If you want to be a bit more creative, talk to your manager at your local grocery store and request an order of whatever you need. Be willing to make a deposit or something and get a receipt if you do. To be a bit more technical about the snake juice, the only two ingredients you really need are sodium and potassium at a 1:1 ratio. This means if you find 66% potassium 33% sodium lite-salt on the shelf, you'll have to add in extra sodium to reach that 1:1 ratio. Baking soda is also optional, so if you don't want to use it make sure to add sodium to the recipe to reach that 1:1 ratio since baking soda has sodium in it. You should have a bit of baking soda if you're going to break an extended fast (1/4 tsp in an hour should be fine). Baking soda is added in for kidney health. FOOD GRADE epsom salts (magnesium) are optional as well. They are only in the recipe to eliminate the fear of refeed syndrome. You should only really be weary of refeed syndrome if you've fasted for 30+ days and/or you're lean (Auschwitz lean). Your body only needs very minimal amounts of magnesium and you can be getting the amount you need through food already, so I take 1/2 tsp or less per WEEK. Just fyi, an average person stores 25,000 mg of magnesium and uses 300 mg per day. The only people who should be seriously worried about magnesium deficiency are vegans who don't supplement it. Q: I can't find potassium, do I really need it? A: Potassium is NON-NEGOTIABLE. If you can't find it you're an idiot, go to the pharmacy and ask for "salt alternatives for people with high blood pressure." Yes you must get out of your house and into a brick-and-mortar pharmacy Yes you will have to talk to a stranger. Q: Where can I get the ingredients for snake juice? A: Your local grocery store MIGHT have them. I would get Himalayan pink salt from a better quality store because there is fake pink salt floating around. To test fake pink salt, mix it in some water. If the water turns pink, it is fake. If the water remains clear, it is authentic. Snake juice packets are also available on Amazon right now, but they're expensive as fuck (about a 4x markup). You DO NOT need to get these packets if you can just get the ingredients separately. You can also just use the old snake juice recipe: -2L water -1 tsp Sodium Chloride -1 tsp Potassium Chloride This is just a baseline amount, meaning you can adjust the concentration as need be. Q: Can I workout while I fast? A: On a snake juice fast, yes. Start at 70% intensity and adjust from there. If you're a beginner, just do bodyweight exercises or find a beginner routine to start. Do not workout on a plain water or dry fast. Q: W-WHAT ABOUT STARVATION MODE?????? A: You will reach starvation mode when you are under 7% bodyfat. If you're already around that body fat percentage, think about an OMAD routine or a tight intermittent fast routine. If you want to do a prolonged fast for its health benefits, just eat enough for 3-4 days and dry fast for 3-4 days. Q: What can I eat on my refeed? A: Any fast 3-4 days long you can pretty much eat anything you want. 5+ days you can do the following: Drink 1L + 1 tsp of baking soda and refeed on either: - Raw meat (or as close to raw as possible to prevent constipation) and/or raw eggs. Don't forget, sushi has raw fish. - 4:1 Fruits:Meat. Fruits can be anything easily digestible, like cucumber (yes, it's technically a fruit), kiwi, watermelon, etc.. That's 4:1 in weight, so something like 200g of cucumbers and 50g of salmon. For really long fasts (7-10+ days) you'll have to slowly increase the refeed amount on a daily basis. Don't go slamming back 8 pounds of pizza after you've come off of your fast you fucking idiot, eat some fruit and meat. Q: Can I use drug? A: NO!!!!!!! Fasting is an incredible detoxing process. You are fasting for health and by doing drugs you're just poisoning yourself, STOP FUCKING DOING DRUGS FOR A WEEK FOR FUCK'S SAKE. Gain some goddamn self-discipline and go through your fucking withdrawals you fucking addict. Q: What about big black coffee? A: NO. First of all, coffee has caffeine. Caffeine will interrupt with your REM sleep and give you an addiction, which you'll have to fix once you realize how unhealthy it is. If you drink a cup of coffee fasted, you might not even be able to sleep at night, and if you get good sleep, you won't need your caffeine. Caffeine also increases your cortisol, which is bad for many reasons, including trying to build muscle. Coffee also has adverse effects on your gut, and an unhealthy gut is an unhealthy person. Coffee increases production of a bacteria called Helicobacter pylori, known to cause ulcers. On top of that, coffee weakens your stomach mucosa layer. This layer of mucous is responsible for protecting your stomach from acid, which in turn makes your stomach even more susceptible to H. pylori and ulcers yet again. Coffee also reduces HCl production (decaf included), which fucks with your digestion. Ask yourself why you need coffee in the first place - is it because you hate your job and need an escape? Because of a food addiction? Because you're weak? Q: What about decaf? A: No. Fucks your stomach's HCl levels, just like regular coffee. Q: How exactly do I take ACV (apple cider vinegar) and/or lemon juice? A: First, it's not necessary on any fast SHORTER than OMAD and it's not completely necessary every time you do a prolonged fast. ACV + LJ is for kidney health, mainly. All you have to do is take 2 tablespoons of ACV and/or 4 tablespoons of lemon juice SEPARATELY. The reason you don't want to mix it in your snake juice is because it will slowly eat away at your teeth enamel. You can drink it through a straw or just knock it back like a shot. Finally, rinse your mouth with plain water (not snake juice) to make sure you get the stuff off your teeth. BONUS TIPS: * LOG EVERYTHING. Your weight, your measurements, your bowels, skin issues, health issues, fucking everything that you can think of. If you don't lose any weight on a fast, you can always refer to your measurements or pictures. * STOP BEING A BITCH. * If you're doing a long ass fucking fast and you run in to some issues, break the fucking fast and reboot. Don't worry about trying to hit the 40-day Jesus fast, worry about losing all the body fat that you possibly can. * Make a schedule. Do you workout? Eat on the days you workout and fast on rest days. Work? Fast on your day off. * Boredom is the fast killer. You'll end up with much more free time so occupy yourself with shit, preferably stuff that will make you a better person. Read some self-help books, research weightlifting, pick up new hobbies, work on your dreams/goals, etc.. * Fasting is a TOOL and a LIFESTYLE CHANGE. Have fun with the process and watching your body fat melt off in a matter of days. Use that as motivation and confidence in the method and let that snowball in to more positive actions in your life. Have control of something in your fucking life for once, and embrace the power. Glossary terms for reference Autophagy '''- A physiological process in which your body 'eats up' dead, dying, and decaying cells. I'm unsure when autophagy begins. It may start as soon as you enter ketosis (when you deplete your liver glycogen) or after you've been in ketosis for a certain amount of time. Do your own goddamn research. '''Dry fast - A fast involving NO WATER. An aggressive fast really only needed to heal acute issues, but can also be used as a sort of tool once you're a more advanced faster. A hard dry fast is no water contact whatsoever and a soft dry fast allows water contact for showering, washing hands, etc.. The differences are debatable but some report a difference between the two. Plain Water fast '''- A fast drinking plain water only. NOT recommended for over 4 days, 7 being the maximum and generally for fatties only. Any longer and you can end up in the hospital if you don't know what the fuck you're doing. '''Prolonged/extended fast - Zero caloric intake over 24 hours. OMAD - One Meal A Day Snake juice fast AKA Snake Diet - A fast involving snake juice (electrolyte water). Recipe is posted in /fast/ general. More information at snakediet.com or watch his videos on YouTube.